Hello again cats and kittens. It’s been a while since the word of jazz blew its way across these august pages but fear not, lovers of the blue note, we are back in business. We begin proceedings with a spot of time travel, back to 50 years ago…
The year is 1959. Castro takes Havana, De Gaulle becomes the first President of the Fifth Republic, the Barbie doll is born, Ben Hur is released, the Guggenheim opens in New York and Buddy Holly and his cohorts shuffle off this mortal coil. Against this backdrop, another historical event is playing out: MILES DAVIS records Kind of Blue for Columbia Records.
To say that this is one of the defining records of modern jazz would not be remiss. Indeed it holds an enduring place in the heart of many thanks to its laid back sounds while still managing to satisfy the jazz fraternity’s rigorous standards with its deceptively inventive and adventurous improvisational compositions. As such, it transcends any notion of genre to become what can only be termed “a classic” on par with any of the iconic art works that define the idea of modernity ushered in by the 20th century. Furthermore, it captures Miles Davis in a fleeting moment of modal suspension – never to be repeated – between his hard bop oriented ’50s groups and the far freer sounds of his ’60s work.
The bright buttons among you will conclude from this grand praise that there have been plenty of reissues of this opus in the past 50 years and you would be right – it is in fact the biggest selling jazz record of all time and has never been out of print. However none of the previous issues have come close to being as definitive as Kind Of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collectors’ Edition (Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music). This sumptuous box set brings together a replica of the original album in blue vinyl, a CD version with all the original session takes and out-takes, a second CD with all other known recordings featuring the group and a DVD with a making of documentary and some fantastic ’60s TV footage of the group playing live. As if all this weren’t enough, the LP sized box also contains ephemera including replica session photos and publicity material as well as a poster and a beautiful hard cover book that is probably worth the price on its own. In summary, as this is the only jazz record that many have in their collection, why not do things properly and splash out to have the only reissue that does it true justice.
Before we leave ’59, we are obliged to say that is was not just a good year for Miles but for jazz in general seeing the release of CHARLES MINGUS’ sprawling Mingus Ah Um (Columbia), DAVE BRUBECK’s swinging Time Out (Columbia) and ORNETTE COLEMAN’s prophetic The Shape Of Jazz To Come (Atlantic) all of which, in different ways, defined jazz as it entered the turbulent ’60s. My secret jazz mole (who knows the most to say the least!) reliably informs me that a documentary charting this year in jazz through the lens of these releases plus the abovementioned Kind Of Blue will be hitting UK screens this year. So keep your eyes peeled for TV listings to that effect as well as (we hope) comprehensive reissues of these seminal titles.
While we are on the topic of previews – and to demonstrate that we constantly have our fingers firmly on the pulse - it is worth mentioning a worthwhile effort to bring to light a lesser known (but no less) Davis of modern jazz: NATHAN DAVIS. So we are happy to announce as a worldwide exclusive that the first ever anthology of this extraordinary reed player’s output The Best of Nathan Davis 1965-1976 (Jazzman) will be out in time for Spring. Despite incredible acclaim by audiences and musicians alike when he burst on the scene in the ’60s, there is virtually no mention of him in any jazz histories and his work has never been reissued - leading to his original recordings being extremely sought after by those in the know. But unlike many of the rare and obscure records that collectors often fetishise despite the obvious fact that they would have been best left in the dustbin of history, Davis’ recordings are true masterpieces of modern jazz.
This collection touches on a few of his finest moments from the ’60s as well as some of his ’70s output. To this reviewer’s ears it would have been better, considering the quality and quantity of material from the period to dedicate the anthology purely to the high calibre jazz of the former decade rather than the slightly tepid and formulaic funk of the latter. However, considering the time that these recordings have languished in obscurity, our appetites have been well and truly whetted and we hope that there is more to come…
Speaking of lovingly restored slices of the forgotten past, the good people at Dutton Vocalion continue to single handedly rescue various gems of UK jazz from oblivion. In particular their work on bringing MICHAEL GARRICK’s catalogue back into existence continues apace with the reissue of his ’73 date Troppo (Vocalion). Although this is a fine record by current standards it is not as strong as some of his other dates such as Promises, Black Marigolds and October Woman (all also available on Vocalion while supplies last) and does sound somewhat dated. If you are already an aficionado this will be a welcome addition and if you are just starting out then the other titles are better starting points.
Finally, we turn our attention to a reissue of perhaps one of the craziest projects ever to see the light of day. We are of course referring to the excellent AL ‘JAZZBO’ COLLINS’ Tells Fairy Tales For Hip Kids (el/Cherry Red) in which this noted radio DJ took it upon himself to retell famous fairy tails such as ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and ‘The Three Little Pigs’ in beatnik argot accompanied by tinkling jazz ivories. Yes it is nutty but I can guarantee you, as a recently minted finger poppin’ daddy, that it’s guaranteed to make kids wig out while making grown ups flip their lid. Dig?
www.legacyrecordings.com
www.jazzmanrecords.co.uk
www.duttonvocalion.co.uk
www.elrecords.co.uk |
